Detectives searching for the body of a pensioner stolen by animal rights activists today said they had found human remains.

The body of 82-year-old Gladys Hammond was taken from a graveyard in Yoxall, Staffordshire, in October 2004.

Police investigating the desecration of her grave said they had found the remains after receiving new information. "Officers can confirm that what are believed to be the remains of a human body have been discovered," a Staffordshire police spokesman said.

Ms Hammond was the mother-in-law of Chris Hall who, with his brother John, ran a farm in nearby Newchurch that was targeted by animal rights extremists.

Darley Oaks farm, which bred guinea pigs used in biomedical research, was the subject of a six-year hate campaign.

The farm ceased operations after the theft of Ms Hammond's remains. Four people are due to be sentenced for their part in the hate campaign later this month.

Officers found the human remains near the German War Cemetery at Broadhurst Green, near Hednesford, late yesterday. Forensic teams and detectives were working at the scene, and the spokesman said the remains would be removed later today.

They will be taken to Stafford mortuary before undergoing DNA and other tests to establish the identity of the body - a process that could take several days.

Relatives of Ms Hammond, who died in 1997, have been informed of the discovery and are being supported by a police family liaison officer.

"This discovery is an answer to prayer and I hope that, when the body is identified, it proves to be that of Mrs Hammond so that her remains can be laid to rest once again," Rev Jenny Lister, the Rector of Yoxall, said.

"We believe that Mrs Hammond is at peace, but I pray that this will begin to bring healing to her family, who have suffered so much."

The discovery came nine days before the four people who targeted the farm are due to be sentenced for conspiracy to blackmail at Nottingham crown court.

A judge described Kerry Whitburn, John Smith, John Ablewhite and Josephine Mayo as "determined and cold-blooded defenders of their perceived cause".

The defendants - who face lengthy jail sentences - last month pleaded guilty to taking part in the campaign against the farm, which included death threats, arson attacks and malicious phone calls.

Last August, the Hall family announced that it would cease breeding guinea pigs at the farm from January this year in the hope that the grave robbers would return Ms Hammond's remains.

Whitburn, 36, of Birmingham, 39-year-old Smith, of Wolverhampton, Ablewhite, 36, of Manchester, and 38-year-old Mayo, also of Birmingham, have pleaded guilty to conspiring to blackmail people connected to the farm between September 1999 and September 2005.